


An Unexpected Offer

by ChocoNut



Series: Many ways to say I love you [16]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post Season 7, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 23:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: When King Jon asks Brienne to head his Kingsguard, she is torn between her loyalty to the Starks and her feelings for Jaime... until Jaime comes to her rescue.





	An Unexpected Offer

An offer to head King Jon’s royal guard should’ve been Brienne’s moment of glory. It was something she had been craving for every minute of her life. It had been her lifelong ambition to hold a title of such importance, and this was an apt chance for her to seal her unwavering loyalty to the North. Lady Catelyn would’ve been proud of her, had she lived. Brienne herself should’ve felt honoured. But strangely, instead of filling her with a sense of pride and elation, it left her thinking.

“Do you accept the position, my lady?” Jon asked of her. “Would you pledge your sword to me?”

To her surprise and embarrassment, Brienne was quiet. She could neither bring herself to say yes, nor decline this prestigious offer. She stole a glance at Jaime whose gaze was fixed on the king. Since the commencement of the war, though she had fought alongside Jaime, nothing was said between them. Their conversations were very limited, often restricted to work and battle strategy discussions. Try as she might to look upon him as just an ally and a fellow soldier, her feelings for him only ended up growing by the day. Becoming a part of the Kingsguard would mean shutting herself to what her heart wanted, a means to be permanently separated from the man she had come to admire and love.

But, days had passed since his arrival and he had said nothing yet. She only knew that she loved him, having no idea if he reciprocated her feelings or not. All these years, she had dedicated her life to service, and that was what she would do going forward too.

 _I accept,_ was what she was about to say, but instinct made her stop and think.

“I--” she stuttered, searching for words. “I’d request you for a day’s time to think about it, your grace,” she ended up saying, pushing her dilemma to another day, hoping she might be able to take a decision later.

“Very well,” Jon agreed.“Tell me in a day or two.”

With the meeting concluded, the king was about to go, when Jaime addressed him. “If I might have a word, your grace.” Brienne turned to leave with the rest of the crowd, when Jaime stopped her just as she was about to step out. “You too, my lady.”

The crowd began to thin with the council members pouring out one by one. Jaime waited until they were the only three people in the hall. “Your grace,” he began once they were alone. “I regret to inform you that Lady Brienne would not be in a position to accept your honourable offer,” he said, leaving Brienne stunned for a minute, wondering what he might be up to.

“Why might that be?” Jon asked, looking at the two of them suspiciously. “And why didn’t the lady say so earlier?”

Jaime smiled, an embarrassed smile that left Brienne nursing an ominous premonition of what might be coming. “What I’m about to tell you isn’t something that can be discussed in front of the entire court,” he told the king. “At least not this soon.”

“Go on,” Jon prompted. “I’m listening.”

“Lady Brienne has chosen to pledge herself to me,” he said, leaving Brienne staring at him open-mouthed. Worried that her face might betray the lie, she immediately composed herself, trying to be as normal as possible.

“What does that mean?” It was Jon who spoke, for Brienne was still too shocked to find her tongue.

“The lady and I are betrothed, your grace,” Jaime went on to explain. It took Brienne a great deal of effort once again to maintain normalcy at his declaration. Unsure of what he was playing at, she decided not to counter him for the time being.

If Jon was surprised by Jaime’s disclosure, he didn’t show it. “In that case, I must congratulate you both,” he told them, smiling. “When did this happen?”

“I had the privilege of seeking her hand only last night,” Jaime continued to lie. “Though, I had been wanting to ask her for long.”

Jon looked at Brienne. “I don’t mean this in an offensive way, my lady, but I never imagined Ser Jaime to be your type. From what I’ve heard about you, you both never did get along.”

“I’m in love with her.” It was Jaime who replied again, looking directly at Brienne when he spoke. “And she with me. I’ve loved her for years.” He smiled, the warmth of it lighting up his features and his vivid green eyes.

“You’re in love with her?”

“Yes, your grace,” said Jaime softly, his eyes shining. “I despised her when I first met her, but over time, things changed.” He sighed deeply. “I thank Lady Stark with all my heart for bringing us together.”

Jon narrowed his brows. “But I thought you loved--”

“I did,” Jaime interrupted him before he could finish. “It was because of my blind devotion to Cersei that I failed to see the signs when I fell for Lady Brienne. Before I knew it, I was already in love… deeply, infact. I’ve been an idiot not to have realized it sooner.”

The way he gazed at her, Brienne couldn’t help wondering if the look in his eyes seemed too sincere to be fake. _Could it be that he really…No,_ she immediately shook herself back to reality. It couldn’t be anything more than a ploy to convince the king. _But why?_

“Should I consider this your refusal for the position, my lady?” Jon came to the point.

“I must decline your offer with my heart-felt apologies, your grace,” Brienne mumbled, her cheeks burning in embarrassment, for Jaime had left her in a fix and a more delicate position than before without bothering to think about the implications of his actions.

Jon gave her a kind smile. “You owe me no apology, my lady, nor should you feel guilty for following your heart. Marriage is a logical culmination of what you feel for one another.” He looked at Jaime. “I wish you both a lifetime of happiness,” he said sincerely.

“Thank you, your grace,” Jaime replied graciously.

Jon got to his feet. “Now if you could excuse me, I must find myself a new Lord Commander.”

They bowed to the king and wordlessly made their way out. Torn between confusion and rage, Brienne didn’t dare say anything until they were out of the earshot of passers-by. Unable to contain herself anymore, she stopped abruptly when they were walking through a deserted passage.

“Ser Jaime, a word please.” She desperately needed an explanation for the strange scene that had just unfolded in front of the king.

Jaime halted, then retraced his steps back to her. “Yes, my lady?” he asked innocently, as if nothing had happened.

“What was all that about?” she demanded, her initial shock at his fake declaration of love and the blatant lie of their impending wedding now replaced with anger and irritation. He had always considered it his right to tease her from the day they met, but what he had done today was off-bounds, beyond all limits. “How the hell did you assume you could interfere in my decisions?”

“That was me, saving you from a vow you didn’t want to make,” he announced triumphantly. “You should thank me for it, wench, not pounce on me for doing you a favour.” She couldn’t miss the teasing glint in his eyes. “Also, isn’t marrying me a better option compared to protecting the king?”

 _Teasing… mockery… taunts… That’s all I’m ever going to get from him. Ofcourse he didn’t mean a word of it!_ She felt like slapping her palm to her forehead for her foolishness, for believing for one tiny moment that he was speaking the truth. _What the hell was I thinking?_

“How do you know what I want and what I don’t?” she argued, disturbed that he could so accurately read her emotions and dismiss how she felt as a joke… with just a petty lie.

“I can see it in your eyes, my lady, like I always have. You’re an open book,” he remarked, looking deeply into her eyes.

His piercing gaze only irritated her more. “Don’t presume to know everything about me,” she cried out, her agitation only increasing with the realization that it was all a tale, a bloody bluff.

“You’re too loyal to the North to refuse,” he once again gauged her correctly. “Had I not intervened, you’d have put their interest before yours.”

“Well, you’re wrong this time, Ser Jaime--” she began to object.

“I certainly am not!” There was a mischievous little smile on his lips. “Look at you, you don’t want to oblige him at all, you’re just too polite to tell him.”

In a fit of frustration she decided to accept the offer just to spite him, just to wipe that awful smile off his face, to show him that his mockery had, for once, backfired. “I’m going to take up the position of Lord Commander,” she declared defiantly. “I’m going right now to the King to apologize for your lie and pledge myself to him.”

Not wanting to spend another minute without reason or purpose in his company, she strode ahead, wishing never to see his face again.

“Brienne, wait,” Jaime called out, but she was in no mood to pay him any heed.

“I have nothing more to say to you, Ser Jaime.” She huffed away, not even bothering to look at him. She wanted to get out of there as fast as she could, when he grabbed her arm.

“Listen to me, Brienne,” he insisted, turning her to face him, his tone bordering on impatience.

“What’s there to listen to?” she snapped, trying to wriggle out of his grasp, but he only pulled her closer. “Some long winded explanation for your lie? Another lie to justify this one?”

“An explanation for sure,” he said, his features softening as he let go of her arm. “But not for a lie, for what I spoke was no lie at all.”

He no longer held on to her and she could’ve walked away easily, but she didn’t… she couldn’t, for her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.

“Didn't it occur to you for even a minute, wench, that I could’ve been speaking the truth?” There was no sign of jest in his eyes when he said this, nor in his voice. All she could see was honesty, and if she was not mistaken, _affection._

“Why should I have thought so?” she tried to argue. “When have you ever taken me seriously? From the day you saw me it has always been jibes and taunts for you--”

“I’m absolutely serious now.” Something in his tone made her want to trust him more than anything else. It reminded her of their brief time together at the Riverrun siege. “Just as I was when I gave you Oathkeeper, and when I refused to take it back when you returned it. I was dead serious when I spoke to the king, every word I said, coming straight from my heart, my lady.” He drew closer, making her reflexively take a step backward, only to hit the wall behind her. “How could I let the woman I love pledge herself to the King?”

Hearing this, her heart skipped a beat. “Are you saying--” _you love me,_ was what she wanted to ask, but her tongue had turned to stone and her voice seemed to have abandoned her.

“Yes,” he admitted, putting all her doubts to rest. “And I know you feel the same for me. Your words may convey otherwise, my lady, but your eyes never lie. I’ve seen it then, and I see it now.” He took another step towards her, closing the distance between them even further as she had nowhere to retreat. “You don’t want to oblige the king because you love me and you want me, however much you may deny it.”

“When did I ever deny it, Ser Jaime?” she murmured, blushing. He loved her. That was all she had ached to know. Her heart was thumping so hard that she was sure he could hear it.

Her confession seemed to have encouraged him, for he finally mustered the courage to reach out and caress her cheek. Closing her eyes in anticipation, she waited with bated breath when he leaned in to kiss her, only to be rudely disturbed by a sound in the distance. Anxious that they might be caught, Brienne pushed him away. “Someone’s coming, Ser Jaime, I should go. I’ll meet you later.” Smiling to herself at the sudden burst of happiness in her life, she was about to leave when Jaime pulled her back into his arms.

“Let me go--” she tried to protest without much conviction.

“Not before I steal a kiss,” he said urgently, pressing his lips to hers. When he kissed her, all her worries about the war melted away and any guilt there was for having refused the king's offer flew off her mind. When he released her, all she was left craving for, was a life with the man she loved.

“My lady,” he breathed into her lips. “The proposal I made in the presence of the king wasn’t a joke either. I need an answer, and I hope you won’t disappoint me. Should I tell him we’re to be married today?” he asked, his eyes shining with joy and hope.

Overwhelmed by the pleasantly surprising turn of events, Brienne was about to reply when they heard footsteps not far away. “I’ll give you my answer later, Ser Jaime,” she said, unwillingly breaking free of his grasp. Left to her, she would’ve spent the entire day in his arms, but they couldn’t afford to let anyone know. Not just yet, for it was still a private moment between them.

“You can’t leave me in the lurch and just go,” Jaime groaned.

“We can talk later, there’s someone coming.” Much to his annoyance, she hurried away. But before she could go too far, she heard him call out.

“Just say yes or no atleast, wench,” he implored. “When I said today, I didn’t literally mean today. Take your time, we can do it whenever you want--”

Before she knew what she was doing, Brienne was back to his side, kissing him desperately. “Well,” she said, biting her lip coyly when she let go of him. “Tell the king that today isn’t a bad day after all…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and please do share your comments!


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